It’s Big, It’s Ugly, and It Came From Irvine Lake

Catch of a lifetime? Perhaps.

But John Romo’s Irvine Lake-record rainbow trout--a 19 1/2-pounder pulled from the reservoir last Friday--is no beauty.

“It is kind of ugly, but big,” said Steve Miller, who runs the lake concession.

Ugly? It’s downright grotesque. It looks as though its body grew while its head and tail stayed the same size.

That’s not taking anything away from Romo. The angler from Orange successfully battled the ugly old rainbow from shore on two-pound test line, breaking the old record by more than a pound.

But maybe he should have put the fish back.